Boys basketball: Newman rebounds from slow start to top Hinckley-Big Rock

OREGON – When Hinckley-Big Rock started off hot in their Oregon Thanksgiving Tournament pool-play game, Newman turned up the pressure.

The Royals jumped out to a seven-point lead in the first five minutes Friday night, but the Comets chipped away and led by as many as eight in the third quarter before holding on for a 61-55 win.

“We had quite a few turnovers at the start of the game – I think we had six in the first quarter – and then we rallied, and when the game got close, we just turned up the defense and executed a little better on offense,” sophomore point guard Garret Matznick said. “Then once we built the lead, we were able to maintain it with our defense and just run the clock a little bit.”

Newman (2-0) scored 11 points off 24 HBR turnovers, nabbing 16 steals and turning nine offensive rebounds into 11 second-chance points. After committing those six first-quarter turnovers, the Comets had just six the rest of the way as they ratcheted up their 1-3-1 press.

“I feel like the key was getting after it. We didn’t have a lot of steals in the first quarter, but we had a lot of turnovers,” senior forward Lucas Simpson said. “So I feel like getting in their passing lanes, that helped us after we started off slow and got us going. We got some tips, got some steals and scored points on the fast break.

“Once we get that going, we can settle in and execute our plays.”

The Royals (0-2) hit their first five shots, and Martin Ledbetter led the charge out of the gate. He scored eight of his 15 points in the first quarter, as he and Austin Albus consistently got to the rim and found easy layups. A few of those came on passes to the baseline behind the Newman press, as HBR built leads of 10-3 and 14-7 in the first quarter.

“It all starts with a good warmup, that’s always a big thing. We ran the ball well early,” Ledbetter said. “It was definitely the plan to work it inside and try to get layups behind their press, and get some open shots around the arc as well.

“But coming out fast isn’t always good, because you can get burned out quick. Later in the game, I felt like we just stuck in the backcourt.”

Sam Francque hit a 3-pointer to end the first quarter, then another to open the second as Newman tied it 16-16. That sparked an 11-4 run over the next 3:10, then Francque found Simpson open underneath for a layup a few minutes later for a 28-25 lead.

“We were able to execute more once we got in the rhythm of the game, and we just kept on pushing and never got out of our rhythm,” Simpson said. “We got in the passing lanes, got tips, got steals and got our fast-break points. When we got faster with our 1-3-1, we were fine.”

The Comets opened the third quarter with a 10-2 run to snap a 31-31 halftime tie, with Simpson scoring back-to-back buckets before wrapping a pass around an HBR defender to Dax Snyder on the baseline for a layup.

The Royals rallied, as Albus scored off an assist from Ledbetter on a baseline cut, then Tyler Smith went coast-to-coast for a layup off a steal near midcourt to get within 45-40 going into the fourth. HBR got a 3 from Justin Wentzlaff and an interior bucket from Ledbetter in the first 58 seconds of the fourth quarter to tie the game 45-45.

Simpson scored inside, then put back his own miss the next trip down the floor before grabbing a long rebound and beating everybody down the court for a layup to push the lead back to 51-45 with 5:10 to play.

A three-point play and a pull-up jumper by Landon Roop got the Royals within 53-52, but Simpson again had the answer for Newman. He scored on a pretty drive-and-dish from Matznick, then caught a baseball pass from Matznick 35 seconds later for a layup to make it 57-52.

After Roop found Smith for a 3 to get HBR within 57-55 with 30 seconds left, Simpson threw the ensuing inbounds pass deep to Isaiah Williams for a layup, then Williams got a steal 20 seconds later and was fouled, hitting both free throws to make it 61-55 with 7.1 seconds remaining.

Simpson hit the 30-point mark for the second straight game, finishing with 34 points, nine rebounds, six steals and three assists. Matznick had seven points, seven assists and five steals, Williams added seven points, two assists and two steals, and Francque finished with six points and two steals. Cody McBride chipped in five points for the Comets.

Smith scored 16 points, grabbed four rebounds, blocked three shots and nabbed two steals for the Royals, and Ledbetter also stuffed the stat sheet with 15 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, four steals and a block. Albus scored 12 points on 6-for-6 shooting, and Roop chipped in nine points, five assists and four rebounds.